Dear Reader,
We’re in Island Park, Idaho, having stayed last night (and again tonight) at Angler’s Lodge along the Henry’s Fork River. It’s cold (low twenties), with more snow on the ground than in Montana, but we don’t have too many plans other than to enjoy the change of scenery, read, write, play Ticket to Ride, and take Megan to a Mexican restaurant for her birthday tonight.
Because we’re exciting like that.
Our family extroversion is at a disadvantage on this trip, as we’re sans our two main extroverts, Maddie and Katie. Maddie and her husband, Bruce, just celebrated their third wedding anniversary and are spending time this Thanksgiving with his family in Bozeman. Katie road-tripped to Colorado Springs for a reunion with some camp friends from Eagle Lake.
So, after Megan’s lovely Midwestern Thanksgiving dinner with a few friends, she, Chloe, Millie, Peaches, and I piled into the Murano and drove the two hours over and down to eastern Idaho to do…basically nothing. It was a pretty drive and we have a warm room at the lodge, so if you don’t hear from us in a couple days, you at least have our last known location.
Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend. As always, thanks for reading.
Craig
P.S.: As a reminder, you’re welcome and encouraged to email me directly with feedback, ideas, links, etc. at cmdunham [at] gmail [dot] com. Just know that, unless you specifically tell me not to, I may quote you here (though it will always be anonymously).
Hot Takes
A quick look at a few news items of note this week:
“3 Men Charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s Death Convicted of Murder” - Justice had a good week these past seven days. The Ahmaud Arbery case seemed a no-brainer with the evidence that was available, and I’m glad that the three defendants were found guilty by a jury of their peers (11 white and one black, an aspect of the story that the press has dropped because the guilty verdict doesn’t work with the racism angle very well).
The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict last Friday was more complicated, or at least the press tried to make it so. My friend Seth Hurd, who for four years lived within blocks of the events of the Rittenhouse events, and personally knows people who suffered because of the Kenosha riots, has everything you would want to read about the verdict over at his bi-weekly newsletter, The Five. I appreciated his balanced summary:“The clearly unethical (and likely illegal) evidence tampering by the prosecutors has been a major wake up call to the right-of-center crowd who have traditionally rallied around a ‘don’t commit crimes, you won’t wind up in prison’ mantra. This is anecdotal, but from what I’m seeing, the lightbulb is coming on that the justice system is not always impartial and can be easily weaponized.
Which means the left and right should be in perfect alignment—there are certainly cases where corrupt cops and bad D.A.’s knowingly charge the innocent, doctor evidence, bully the defendant, and withhold information to gain a plea deal or conviction.”However, as Seth writes, the opportunity may be squandered if we’re not careful:
“The Rittenhouse case does appear to be the ‘new trial of the century,’ and while the nation held its breath and prayed prayers of protection (or condemnation) for Rittenhouse, the larger legacy isn’t around the freedom or imprisonment of one teenager. The real ‘Rittenhouse Effect’ is the political right appears to have become more sympathetic to the plight of the wrongly accused (which you can affirm even if you believe Rittenhouse was guilty).
I have a (fading) hope members of the political left who have long advocated for justice reform might reach out, but the conversation coming from the left side of the aisle at the moment is from strongly authoritarian voices, at a time when left populists could lead with significant and positive legislation around justice reform…if only someone would hear them.”
Much to consider in the wake of these trials. Here’s to both sides being better.
Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery.
“The Cost of Delay” - Complaining about supply chain issues is all the rage these days, and as someone who now works in manufacturing, I can attest to the challenges and realities of it (though at more of an industrial level than a commercial one). Here’s how The Washington Post sums up the problem:
“This holiday season, just about everything that ends up in your shopping cart has taken a tumultuous journey through the world’s mangled supply chains. Some items that should’ve arrived months ago are just showing up. Others are tied up at factories, ports, and warehouses around the globe, waiting for shipping containers, planes, or trucks to transport them where they belong. And because of this, prices across the board are rising on many holiday items.”
I was in southern California six weeks ago and saw the ships off the coast of Seal Beach south of Los Angeles with my own eyes. I even took a picture that, according to the friend I was visiting there, is still accurate as of this writing.
Container ships lined up off the coast of Seal Beach in October. “To show how some of the most popular products this year have been affected by this global upheaval, The Washington Post dug into the backstory for four top sellers: a puffer jacket produced by Primary, a kids apparel company; the electronic Got2Glow Fairy Finder, a WowWee toy that’s expected to be one of the hottest this year; an artificial Christmas tree manufactured by the National Tree Co.; and a sparkling wine sold by the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.”
The report is interesting, and if there’s a theme running through the piece, it’s how much China is a part of the American supply chain. In all four examples - including those of the “National” Tree Co. and the wine sold by Coppola’s winery in California - American manufacturing can’t seem to get away from China. Four companies, four realities:
Primary Puffer Jackets: “Primary’s lightweight kids puffer jacket comes in a dozen colors and now takes more than a dozen weeks to make its way from fabric production in China to assembly in Vietnam and then to the United States, where it sells for $48.”
Got2Glow Fairy Finder: “The company’s factories in southern China closed for weeks, then reopened at partial capacity.”
National Tree Co.: “National Tree Co. sells hundreds of thousands of artificial trees a year — almost all of them in the weeks before Christmas. That means it’s crucial that the company get its trees from China into U.S. warehouses by early fall.”
Delicato Family Wines: “Glass bottles from China have increased in price nearly 70 percent in the past year and now need three additional months of lead time.”
The short-term solution (with the unloaded container ships) is for Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to get out of the way and let the market solve the problem of getting the goods to where they need to go. The longer-term solution (with regard to China) is for American companies (and consumers) to become less dependent (read: “addicted”) to cheap labor and prices and bring much of the manufacturing that has migrated overseas in recent decades back to the U.S. We’ll see what Black Friday teaches us about supply and demand.
A National Tree Co. Christmas tree factory in China.
My Black Friday Shopping Wish List
I promised myself (or was it my wife?) I wouldn’t make a big deal about today being Black Friday - one of the most loathsome days of the year, in my opinion - so I won’t.
On the contrary, for those out shopping today (and only if you feel so inclined), I’ve published my personal Black Friday shopping wish list for your consideration. I’m not sure as to availability of any of these items (and some probably have a pretty hefty price tag, so don’t go crazy), but perhaps you’ll find some good sales.
The List
I’d love a quality news outlet that keeps a healthy divide between news and opinion. I don’t mind both in the same outlet (and I don’t even care where they land on the political spectrum) so long as they don’t report with bias or hide facts. (Bonus points if they don’t try to end every television broadcast with a token “Inspiring America” story, followed by a trite, canned salutation.)
I’m also in dire need of a new B.S. detector, as mine has gotten so much use this past year that it’s on its last legs. Press conferences and official statements (not to mention Twitter and Facebook) seem to have taken the worst toll on the poor thing, and it’s just plumb worn out. It doesn’t have to be high-end, but it does need to be pretty sturdy.
I’ve been looking for a remote island somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle - not for me, but for those politicians who have made a mockery of what moral leadership is: Nancy Pelosi, Marjorie Taylor Green, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Andrew Cuomo, Cori Bush, J.B. Pritzker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and all the members of The Squad. I’ll add Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump for good measure (they need a permanent vacation).
If you happen to find a two-for-one deal on the aforementioned remote island, that would be great! I’d love to gift one-way tickets to Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, Eric Metaxas, Ibram X. Kendi, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and the founders of BLM, all of whom have caused so much grief in our nation with their truth-bending narratives, paranoia-inducing lies, and violence-fueling words the past few years. Let’s include the bad cops who give all the good cops a bad name, too.
I confess I’ve been doing a little online shopping on this next one, but I cannot find the right tool to retire the misuse of the capitalized version of the word, “Science,” as if it were 1) a person in the room (i.e. “Science tells us”; 2) a pied-piper skipping down a trail (i.e. “Follow the Science”; or 3) as a one word end-of-discussion declaration (i.e. “Science!”). And yet, I know there’s got to be something out there to fix the word because Anthony Fauci, the CDC, and the WHO have been having their way with it for two years now.
How you doing? Need more ideas? Megan will tell you that I’m usually not good (at all) at coming up with a shopping wish list, but here are some more ideas if they help:
We don’t watch much television and don’t have cable, but we can always use a backup remote for when we can’t find our current one. I say this coming from the perspective that a remote is not to see what’s on TV, but to see what else is on TV, particularly if there are more Kyle Rittenhouse interviews planned.
I’ve been requesting these next items since I was a kid, but no one takes me seriously. I would love some world peace, an end to world hunger, better policies for welcoming immigrants, and a revoking of Roe vs. Wade (I still can’t believe I even have to ask for this last one with the ultrasound technology we have now). It’d be nice to know if these are still available.
This is asking a lot, but I’d love a button I can push for folks to stop being so easily offended so we can move on from all these cancel culture shenanigans and get to the root of our problems. Cancel culture isn’t cutting it; if people want to be easily offended, they will be, so how about we collectively suck it up, buttercups, and figure this out without all the angst?
I’m not sure what aisle might have this, but if you happen to come across some sort of profanity-blocking headphones to wear, that would be fantastic. I’m amazed at how prevalent and public (and loud!) profanity has become in our society and online. My ears would appreciate a respite every now and then.
Find anything yet? No? Not even online? Maybe they’re saving those deals for Cyber Monday. I don’t want to let you down, so here are some stocking stuffer ideas:
I’m always on the lookout for a bulk rate on prescription glasses to give to parents to recognize the mob-like racket between colleges, universities, and the education loan industry. If you find a contact lenses deal, well, even better.
If you come across gift certificates to put an end to corporate farming, the child abuse of Greta Thunberg, the elder abuse of Joe Biden, the misuse of AutoTune, television game shows, The Today Show, false prophets and disciples, Christmas music played before Advent, people exulting in “doing life together,” extravagantly overpaying CEOs while criminally underpaying workers, most modern art, and rude customers who abuse my coffee-slinging daughters while they serve them with a smile, I’d take a handful.
Finally, I could probably use some new underwear, as I’m always getting accused of having my panties in a bunch about something.
I think that’s it! Don’t worry if you can’t find any or all of these items (it’s not like this is the first year I’ve asked for many of them; they just never seem to find their way under the tree, which is probably why I end up getting so many books instead).
Be safe out there on Black Friday. Don’t let your legacy be that you died shopping.
(On a serious note, here’s a little sale going on in which we Dunhams have a vested interest. If you’re looking for some tasty coffee for the holidays, check out RamsHead Coffee Roasters and keep Chloe and Katie busy filling orders in December (tell them you read about it in Second Drafts; it won’t matter in terms of additional discounts, but they’ll get a kick out of it.)
(Also, for any hunters in need of simple equipment to display the trophies of your conquests, Maddie and Bruce would appreciate your business at Shed Straps. Free shipping in the U.S.!)
Post(erity): “A Cyber Monday Meditation”
Each week, I choose a post from the past that seems apropos of something (of course, you’re always welcome to search the archives yourself whenever you like).
This week’s Post(erity) Post - “A Cyber Monday Meditation” - is from November 2016 and pulls back the curtain on our culture’s acquiescence of theft in the name of online Christmas shopping during working hours. An excerpt:
“This is intentional stealing. However, in a pragmatic culture like ours, even theft becomes a virtue on Cyber Monday, so long as it serves our purposes.”
Peaches’ Picks
Peaches and I have been enthralled with the colonial history of Thanksgiving these days (see last Friday’s newsletter excerpting the writings of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford from Of Plymouth Plantation). Author Nathaniel Philbrick’s book - a Pulitzer Prize finalist - is a pleasure to read and a wide-eyed lens at all that was going on in New England before and after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. Much to commend in terms of his aversion to revisionist and caricaturist takes on the story.
Fresh & Random Linkage
“From Amazon to Zoom: What Happens in an Internet Minute In 2021?” - A visual of how much data is created every digital minute in our increasingly data-driven world. (Hint: It’s a lot.)
Until next time.
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